Is President Obama Abandoning Taiwan?

His joint statement with Chinese President Hu Jintao raises questions about his commitment.

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By PARRIS H. CHANG

Before President Obama's recent trip to China, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou asserted that "current Taiwan-U.S. ties are better than any time in the past 60 years and mutual trust between the two countries has been completely restored," referring to ructions with the previous government in Taipei. After Mr. Obama's trip, the U.S.-Taiwan relationship is still far from friendly.

In a speech in Tokyo, President Obama emphasized that the U.S. would not seek to contain China, but did not mention Taiwan at all. In his meetings with Chinese leaders, Mr. Obama avoided the issue of China's building military threat. His administration hasn't announced any arms sales to Taiwan since taking office in January, either.

More fundamentally, the U.S. and China issued a joint statement which included the phrase: "China emphasized that the Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and expressed the hope that the United States will honor its relevant commitments and appreciate and support the Chinese side's position on this issue."

This statement leans toward giving Beijing what it has sought for decades but has tried in vain—until now—to achieve: to get Washington to accept China's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. In July 1982, American Institute of Taiwan Director James Lilley delivered "Six Reassurances" on behalf of then-President Ronald Reagan, which stated that "the U.S. had not altered its position regarding Taiwan's sovereignty, meaning the U.S. does not recognize China's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan."

In July 1998, the Chinese coaxed then President Bill Clinton, who was visiting China, to state a policy of so-called "Three Nos" regarding Taiwan, that includes "no independent Taiwan," "no two Chinas or one Taiwan, one China," and "no Taiwan membership in intergovernmental international organizations." The third "no" is a serious and outright violation of the Taiwan Relations Act, a U.S. law which states: "Nothing in this Act may be construed as a basis for supporting the exclusion or expulsion of Taiwan from . . . any international organization."

President Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, took a much more pro-Taiwan stance. When Mr. Bush visited China the first time in February 2002, there were no surprises from his talks with Chinese leaders, nor was there any joint statement. Prior to his arrival at Beijing, President Bush made a speech to Japan's Diet and said: "America will remember our commitment to the people on Taiwan," He also pledged "to do whatever it takes to help Taiwan defend itself." Three months before he left office, he approved a $6.5 billion package of arms sales to Taiwan.

The Obama team seems to understand that its message may upset Taiwan. After Mr. Obama's trip, the chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, Raymond Burghardt, was dispatched to Taipei, where he met President Ma, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen. Mr. Burghardt told them that U.S.-Taiwan policy remains unchanged, including Washington's stance on the island's sovereignty and defense needs. But few leaders seemed to buy this message and local media roundly criticized the visit.

Now is not the time to repeat Mr. Clinton's mistakes. It is morally and politically wrong for the U.S. to oppose the right of Taiwan, a democratic and open society of 23 million people, to determine its own future. President Obama may be leaning in that direction by not supporting an independent Taiwan and backing China's opposition to Taiwan independence. Beijing has long tried to isolate Taiwan in the international community, lock the island into the framework of a "one China" policy, pave the way for Taiwan's eventual unification with China, and most importantly, seek Washington's support for its maneuvers.

The Obama-Hu statement "welcomes the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and looks forward to efforts by both sides to increase dialogues and interactions in economic, political, and other fields, and develop more positive and stable cross-Strait relations." There is no reason for Washington to believe that Taiwan's unification with Communist China is desirable or inevitable. The three U.S.-China communiques and other joint statements do not commit Washington to Taiwan's unification—and democratic changes in Taiwan have precluded it. The U.S.-Taiwan relationship is valuable in its own right and should not be subordinated to or merely a function of the U.S.-China relations.

To remove any doubts and reassure Taiwan, President Obama should reiterate the commitment of his administration to the Taiwan Relations Act and Reagan's "Six Reassurances." Moreover, to honor the U.S. pledge on security support to Taiwan, the Obama administration should soon make self-defense weapons available to Taiwan. Only then will the U.S.-Taiwan relationship truly be restored.

Mr. Chang, professor emeritus of political science at Penn State University, is the CEO of the Taiwan Institute of Political, Economic and Strategic Studies and former deputy secretary general of Taiwan's National Security Council. He has also served as a legislator for the Democratic Progressive Party.

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